ICYouth: Satisfied? Think about this. (Erianne)

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By Erianne Thedorf

Satisfaction. It’s what many of us think about even if we don’t realize it.

The Comparison Trap, our iMPACT series for the past three weeks, has explored who we look at, why we look at them and what we have. It’s interesting that many of us look around at others pretty consistently and think to ourselves, “Wow I wish…” The focus can be physical, emotional, spiritual or intellectual traits or possessions. We discussed this the first week of The Comparison Trap series.

One of the things discussed this Sunday was something I catch myself doing often when I say or think “If only…” I don’t know about you, but until we had discussed this “If only…” mindset I never really realized how often I say it. We think to ourselves, “If only I had a little more money, I could buy that cute pair of shoes I’ve always wanted.” “If only I had a better job, I would be much happier.”

The one thing we neglect to remember while saying “If only…” is that we are essentially complaining to God about the life He has given us. We are focused too much on physical things, (money being a strong example) that we forget to think about the things that we do have. I know I struggle with this; I see celebrities and wealthy people with all these cool gizmos and gadgets, and I can’t help but think to myself, “If only my parents made more money, I could be just like them and then I would be just as famous.” I’m catching myself tangled up in this huge Comparison Trap that we’ve been talking about these past couple of weeks, and I have to remind myself that I am more than blessed to have the life that I’m living and the family and friends who support me. I’m thankful God has blessed my parents with jobs and that I have a home, electricity, clothes and food. I look at how we view our lives and I see in my own life how easy it is to just overlook the things we have because we always want more. We’re rarely satisfied with what we actually have. We must put our trust in God and understand He will provide and we must trust that God gives us what we have for a reason.

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” – Psalm 91

Since this discussion, I have been challenging myself to just take five minutes out of my day to silently sit in a place where I spend most of my time and look around, acknowledging how grateful I am to have what I have and to truly see the wonderful life God has provided me.

Erianne is a Junior at Grayslake North High School. She enjoys books, movies, music and meeting new people!